Oral care implement having a liquid collection system

ABSTRACT

An oral care implement includes a collection system for oral fluids. Some embodiments of the implement may include an oral care region having a wearable oral member having a thickness that is reduced during use, a reservoir for retaining an oral fluid, a receiver coupled to the oral member for receiving an oral fluid, and a fluid pathway in communication with the receiver to provide the oral fluid to the reservoir.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/544,654 filed on Aug. 20, 2009, now allowed, the entirety of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to an oral care implement, in particular,to a toothbrush with a liquid collection system. Tooth brushing is partof a daily oral hygiene activity. Proper dental care involves regularflossing, brushing and dental checkups. Dentists generally recommendthat an individual brush his or her teeth for a minimum interval percleaning, such as two minutes. Despite such recommendations, manyindividuals, especially young children, do not regularly brush theirteeth for the recommended minimum interval. Such habits often can beattributed to the individual regarding tooth brushing as a mundane dutywith few pleasurable aspects. Dental checkups to a dentist office aretypically the only feedback a person receives on their dental cleaningefforts. There is unfortunately plenty of time in between checkups forpoor dental habits to cause problems. For example, gingivitis,periodontal disease, and a host of other problems can be magnified ifdental cleaning habits are not rectified promptly.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to an oral care implement having acollection system of oral fluids.

In one aspect, an oral care implement includes an oral care regionhaving an oral member having a thickness that is reduced or shortenedduring use; a reservoir for retaining an oral fluid; a receiver fluidlycoupled to the oral member for receiving an oral fluid; and a fluidpathway in communication with the receiver to provide the oral fluid tothe reservoir. In one possible embodiment, the oral member may be madeof a conventional hydrogel material that may swell during use.

In another aspect, an oral care implement includes a reservoir forretaining an oral fluid; and a multilayer collection member including alayer that wears away during use so as to expose an indicium layer thatindicates when the reservoir should be provided for analysis of thecollected oral fluid.

In yet another aspect, an oral care implement has a head containingtooth cleaning elements, a reservoir for storing an oral fluid. Acapillary channel constructed from a fibrous material, ceramic, porousplastic, or combination thereof extends through at least a portion ofthe implement to receive the oral fluid from one or more inlets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing more detailed description of certain embodiments of theinvention and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic perspective front and rear views of an oralcare implement, such as a toothbrush, according to one or moreembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic fragmentary cross-sectional illustration of atoothbrush construction according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a top view of a toothbrush headconstruction according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the toothbrushhead construction shown in FIG. 4 taken along line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a top view of a toothbrushconstruction when a wearable top layer exposes an underneath layer;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a top view of an alternativetoothbrush construction when a wearable top layer exposes an underneathlayer;

FIG. 8 is a schematic fragmentary cross-sectional illustration of analternative toothbrush construction according to an embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged schematic cross-section view of an alternativeconstruction of the toothbrush head shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, the invention is discussed in terms of atoothbrush (e.g. a form of an oral care implement) but could be in theform of other personal care implements. Further, it is understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural and functionalmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate an oral care implement, such as a toothbrush,generally designated with the reference numeral 100. The toothbrush 100generally includes a head 101 and a handle 103.

The handle 103 is generally an elongated member dimensioned so that auser can readily grip and manipulate the toothbrush 100. The handle 103may be formed of many different shapes, lengths and with a variety ofconstructions. In one construction, the handle 103 has a neck portion105 positioned adjacent the head 101. The neck portion 105 may be anarrowed region on the handle 103 between head 101 and the part of thehandle normally gripped by the user. Nevertheless, the neck portion 101could be the region between the head 101 and the part of the handlenormally gripped by the user. In another construction, the handle 103 isintegrally formed with the head 101. While the head is normally widenedrelative to the neck of the handle, it could in some constructionssimply be a continuous extension or narrowing of the handle. Otherattachment configurations also are possible.

The head 101 may include an oral care region comprising one or moretooth cleaning elements 111. As used herein, the term “tooth cleaningelements” or “cleaning elements” includes any type of structure that iscommonly used or is suitable for use in providing oral health benefits(e.g., tooth cleaning, tooth polishing, tooth whitening, massaging,stimulating, etc.) by making contact with portions of the teeth andgums. Such tooth cleaning elements include but are not limited to tuftsof bristles that can be formed to have a number of different shapes andsizes and elastomeric cleaning members that can be formed to have anumber of different shapes and sizes, or a combination of both tufts ofbristles and elastomeric cleaning members.

In one construction, tooth cleaning elements 111 are formed from aplurality of bristles. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the tooth cleaningelements 111 are bristle regions having different shapes, however, it isunderstood that a number of different configurations of oral careimplements may be utilized. The one or more tooth cleaning elements 111may be attached to the head 101 by known methods, such as being fitwithin recesses formed in the head 101 along a front portion 107 of thetoothbrush 100 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a toothbrush 100 having a collectingmember 200 and a reservoir 155 provided for storing an oral fluidmedium, such as saliva and/or a mixture of saliva and dentifrice. Invarious constructions, the reservoir 155 can be provided in the neckportion 105 of the toothbrush 100 or at the distal end of the toothbrushhandle 103.

A fluid pathway 140, such as a capillary channel, generally extends inthe longitudinal direction of the toothbrush 100 for delivering oralfluid to the reservoir 155 from at least one inlet 150. The channel 140uses capillary action to draw liquid from the inlet 150 to the reservoir155. The capillary channel 140 generally has a capillary structure. Inone construction, the channel 140 is in the form of a porous material.Examples of porous materials include fibrous materials, ceramics, andporous plastics such as those available from Porex Technologies,Atlanta, Ga. One example of a fibrous material is an acrylic materialknown as type number C10010, available from Teibow Hanbai Co., Ltd.,Tokyo, Japan. A mixture of porous and/or fibrous materials may beprovided which have a distribution of larger and smaller capillaries.The channel 140 can be formed from a number of small capillaries thatare connected to one another, or as a larger single capillary tube.

It will be understood that the collected oral fluid (e.g. fluid sample)in the reservoir 155 can be analyzed for periodontal gum disease,gingivitis, plaque, halitosis (bad breath), or any other oral or generalbodily disease or condition that is amenable for detection via the oralcavity of a user. The health aspects analyzed by a laboratory mayinclude aspects related to bad health (e.g., the presence of a disease,such as indicated by the presence of a pathogen or the presence orabsence of another chemical) and/or aspects related to good health(e.g., the presence of certain desirable flavanoids indicative of theactivity of a breath freshener). The aspects of good health and poorhealth may include, but are not limited to, aspects of good and bad oralhealth. Poor oral health aspects may include, for example, those aspectsassociated with oral diseases or with poor oral care practicesrecognized or otherwise identified by the American Dental Association.Likewise, good oral health aspects may include, for example, thoseaspects associated with the lack of such oral diseases, or with oralcare practices accepted by the American Dental Association. In someembodiments, a separate reservoir 155 may be provided for collectedsaliva.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the collecting member 200 includes afirst layer 210 of a water insoluble porous material, such as a resin.Examples of suitable materials of the first layer 210 may includefibrous materials, ceramics, and porous plastics such as those availablefrom Porex Technologies, Atlanta, Georgia. The water insoluble materialgenerally maintains the structure of the collecting member 200. Thelayer 210 of porous material can include a portion of the head 101. Thecollecting member 200 can be secured on or within at least one surfaceof the head 101 or in a basin cavity in the head 101.

A second layer 214 is positioned on the first layer 210. The secondlayer 214 is provided in wearable construction so that it can erode dueto mechanical abrasion during use of the toothbrush 100 or it can beformed of a water-soluble material to dissolve in the oral cavity. Inone construction, the second, outer layer 214 may include awater-soluble polymer (such as polyethylene oxide, polyethylene glycol,or polyvinyl alcohol). Nevertheless, other non-toxic polymer with acontrollable water solubility can be used in the toothbrush. It is notedthat the solubility of the polymer used in the outer layer 214 should below enough that it dissolves out slowly, over a period of many uses. Inthese constructions, the collection member 200 has a first thicknesswhich is reduced or shortened during use to a second thickness smallerthan the first thickness. In some embodiments, outer layer 214 may havethe property of being porous to allow transmission of fluids in the oralcavity (e.g. saliva and/or water) to underlying first layer 210 forcollection in reservoir 155 on a continuing basis during use. In otherembodiments, outer layer 214 may be non-porous to allow collection offluids in the oral cavity only once layer 214 wears or dissolves away.In still yet other embodiments, outer layer 214 may be both porous andwear or dissolve with use over time.

The two layers 210, 214 can be produced either by conventionalmanufacturing techniques, such injection molding or extrusion.Alternatively, an extrusion construction, one layer can be extruded andthen the other layer can be thermoformed/compression molded or laminatedonto the extruded layer.

In one construction when the collecting member 200 comes into contactwith water, saliva or a chemical in the mouth, the outer layer 214erodes and a region of the toothbrush 100 is exposed by the erodedportion of the outer layer 214. As the outer layer 214 erodes away withrepeated use, it not only exposes layer 210, but in some embodiments italso exposes indicia 120 on underlying layer 220 that indicates when thetoothbrush 100 has collected and stored a predetermined amount of oralfluid in reservoir 155 sufficient to conduct a laboratory analysis andhence should be returned or sent by the user to a laboratory fortesting/evaluation of the stored oral fluid in reservoir 155. In someembodiments, the indicia 120 can be a visible color that attracts theuser's attention to the layer 220 and signals or illustrates the amountof effective life remaining in the toothbrush 100 and/or tells the userwhen the toothbrush 100 is ready for testing. Alternatively, or inaddition to color indication, the indicia 120 can be a message thattells the user the same. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, theindicia 120, 120′ can be alphanumeric characters, such as withoutlimitation “TEST” or “SEND FOR TEST”. Alternatively, the indicia 120 canbe a graphical symbol or icon. The symbolic aspect is particularlyadvantageous for providing an oral care implement for use in multiplesocial geographic regions without the need to translate text intodifferent languages. It will be appreciated that any suitable color,alphanumeric or graphic indicators, or combinations thereof may be used.

The collecting member 200 can also function as a wear indicator toclearly indicate to the user of the toothbrush to forward the toothbrushfor health screening or testing of collected oral fluid. The member 200can be located at strategic position about the head 101. The collectingmember 100 will provide notice to the user when the toothbrush is ready.In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the collecting member200 is shown in a prismatic shape and located on one surface on head 101opposite the surface containing cleaning elements 111 which couldchannel the saliva and/or other collected oral fluid into inlet 150 moreefficiently into fluid pathway 140. However, this illustrated shape andlocation is not limiting. The collecting member 200 can have anyappropriate shape and be located on any suitable surface(s) on thetoothbrush 100 that preferably can be viewed by the user and provideoral care benefits.

The inlet 150 can be configured as a non-woven pad, membrane or otherstructure that allows passage of the oral fluid. Examples of materialsthat can be used for the inlet include porous plastics and other porousmaterials, such as those described below with reference to the capillarychannel 140. In one construction, the inlet 150 can be located on asurface of the head 101 generally opposite the surface that contains thetooth cleaning elements 111.

When the collection member 200 is provided for the toothbrush 100, theinlet 150 can be incorporated into the first layer 210. The second layer214 can be provided in a wearable construction and enables gentleremoval of microflora and other debris from the tongue and other softtissue surfaces within the mouth. The tongue, in particular, is prone todevelop bacterial coatings that are known to harbor organisms and debristhat can contribute to bad breath. This microflora can be found in therecesses between the papillae on most of the tongue's upper surface aswell as along other soft tissue surfaces in the mouth. When engaged orotherwise pulled against a tongue surface, for example, tissue cleaningprojections or elements 217 disposed on second layer 214 in someembodiments can provide for gentle engagement with the soft tissue whilereaching downward into the recesses of adjacent papillae of the tongue.The projections can have a variety of shapes, such as frusto-conicallyshaped elements, and other shapes that taper to a narrow end and therebyresemble a cone. Alternatively, tissue cleaning elements 217 may haveother shapes, such as linear ridges. In other possible constructions,the inlet 150 can be located within the field of the tooth cleaningelements 111.

In some embodiments as shown in FIG. 9, tissue cleaning elements 217 mayextend completely through layers 214, 210 and connect to either toothcleaning elements 111 and/or be formed as an integral part of the toothcleaning elements, or alternatively tissue cleaning elements 217 may beanchored in the material near the front portion 107 of head 101 thatsupports tooth cleaning elements 111. These constructions may bebeneficial where layer 214 is made of a material that is intended towear or dissolve away with use over time to prevent tissue cleaningelements 217 from dislodging into the oral cavity of a user.

Optionally, a plurality of inlets may be provided on both the surface ofthe head 101 that contains the tooth cleaning elements as well as theopposite the surface of the head, e.g., for collecting the oral fluid atdifferent areas of the oral cavity. The plural inlets 150 may beconnected to a single fluid pathway channel 140 from opposite sides ofhead 101 that lead to reservoir 155.

The reservoir 155 may be formed from a suitable material and formed in avoided container construction. Alternatively, the reservoir 155 mayinclude reticulated foam in the void space of the container, the foammay be hydrophilic. Other examples of materials that can be used for thereservoir 155 include ceramics and porous plastics.

The capillary channel 140 can be press-fit into an opening in the handle103 or, alternatively, the handle 103 can be overmolded around thecapillary channel 140. In a multiple capillary construction, thecapillary channel 140 generally provides a path by which air can enterthe otherwise closed reservoir 155. The finer capillaries of channel 140transfer fluid from the inlet 150. The larger capillaries allow air toenter the reservoir 155. In general, air can enter through at least thelargest capillary in the channel.

In an alternative construction shown in FIG. 8, the toothbrush 100 maycomprise a brush section A and a removable reservoir section B that arejoined to each other, e.g., by threaded engagement, snap-fitting, or thelike. The reservoir section B can be disposable, refillable, and/orinterchangeable with other reservoir sections B. Alternatively, thereservoir section B can be can be replaceable, e.g., by inserting areplaceable reservoir 155 cartridge into a recess in the toothbrush. Thecartridge can be spring-loaded to stay in place after insertion, and/orcan have a seal to prevent unwanted leakage of oral fluid.Alternatively, the reservoir 155 may be placed at a neck location of thetoothbrush 100. In some possible embodiments, the fluid collectionsystem described herein may be incorporated into an electric-poweredtoothbrush. In yet other embodiments of electric toothbrushes, thetoothbrush handle and/or recharging base may incorporate diagnosticcircuitry which could be triggered by markers present and detected inthe oral fluids collected by toothbrush 100 (e.g. plug and play).Accordingly, the fluid collection system described herein is not limitedin application to only manual toothbrushes.

It will be understood that while the invention has been described inconjunction with specific embodiments thereof, the foregoing descriptionand examples are intended to illustrate, but not limit the scope of theinvention. Other aspects, advantages and modifications will be apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and theseaspects and modifications are within the scope of the invention anddescribed and claimed herein.

1. An oral care implement, comprising: an oral care region having anoral member with a thickness which is reduced during oral use; areceiver coupled to the oral member for receiving an oral fluid; a fluidpathway in communication with the receiver; a reservoir in communicationwith the fluid pathway for retaining an oral fluid; a plurality oftissue cleaning projections extending from the oral member for engagingoral tissue; and tooth cleaning elements are disposed opposing thetissue cleaning projections.
 2. The oral care implement of claim 1,wherein the receiver comprises a non-woven pad or membrane.
 3. The oralcare implement of claim 1, wherein the reservoir comprises a replaceablecartridge.
 4. The oral care implement of claim 1, further comprising afirst section containing the oral care region and the fluid pathway, anda second section containing the reservoir, wherein the second section isreleasably attached to the first section.
 5. The oral care implement ofclaim 1, wherein the fluid pathway includes a fibrous material, ceramic,porous plastic, or combination thereof, for providing capillary recoveryof an oral fluid.
 6. The oral care implement of claim 1, wherein theoral member comprises a plurality of layers at least one layer includesthe plurality of tissue cleaning projections extending therefrom forengaging oral tissue.
 7. The oral care implement of claim 6, wherein alayer of the oral member includes a testing indicator that identifieswhen the oral care implement is ready for oral fluid testing.
 8. Theoral care implement of claim 1, wherein the oral member comprises afirst layer, a second, soluble layer that erodes away to expose saidfirst layer, and indicia that indicates when the reservoir should beprovided for testing.
 9. An oral care implement, comprising: acollection member for collecting an oral fluid; a reservoir for storingthe oral fluid; a fluid pathway fluidly connecting the collection memberwith the reservoir to provide the oral fluid to the reservoir; at leastone indicia that provides an indication when a predetermined amount oforal fluid is stored in the reservoir; a plurality of tissue cleaningprojections extending from the oral member for engaging oral tissue; andtooth cleaning elements are disposed opposing the tissue cleaningprojections.
 10. The oral care implement of claim 9, wherein thereservoir comprises a replaceable cartridge.
 11. The oral care implementof claim of 9, further comprising a receiver coupled to the collectionmember for receiving the oral fluid.
 12. The oral care implement ofclaim 11, further comprising a first section containing the oral careregion and the fluid pathway, and a second section containing thereservoir, wherein the second section is releasably attached to thefirst section.
 13. The oral care implement of claim 9, wherein the fluidpathway includes a fibrous material, ceramic, porous plastic, orcombination thereof, for providing capillary recovery of an oral fluid.14. The oral care implement of claim 9, wherein the collection memberincludes a layer positioned above the indicia that covers the indiciabelow.
 15. The oral care implement of claim 14, wherein the layer iscomprised of a material that gradually wears or dissolves away duringuse to expose the indicia below the layer.
 16. The oral care implementof claim 14, wherein the layer is made of a water-soluble polymer. 17.The oral care implement of claim 9, wherein the indicia is selected fromthe group consisting of colors, alphanumeric characters, graphicsymbols, and combinations thereof
 18. The oral care implement of claim 9wherein the implement is a electric toothbrush.
 19. The oral careimplement of claim 9 wherein the oral care implement comprises a neckand the reservoir is positioned in the neck.